Synopsis: 'Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates or with endless paths in deep, dark woods and houses that never appear the same way twice. The heroines and heroes bedevilled by such problems in these fairy tales include a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor and Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as two characters from "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Strange himself and the Raven King".'

I'm so sorry that I haven't journalled this at all. I've had it for several weeks and have already read it. I've had family issues going on and everything else got pushed aside.

It's a wonderful book! I love Susanna Clarke. She made my short list of favorite writers after I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and she's definitely staying there. I love her fairies. They are exactly what I imagine fairies to be. I could have done without the preface and the framework of a collection put together by a professor of Sidhe Studies. That seems a bit silly. But the stories themselves are great. Thank you so much for sharing, Shimmy-crazy! Again, please accept my apologies for being so lax with this. Life just got away from me for a bit. I'll PM Bug2004 now and hopefully have this moving again very soon.

Journal Entry 5 by ealasaidmae at St. Albans, West Virginia USA on Friday, June 12, 2009

Loved this. Love stories about fairies, etc. Enjoyable. So sorry for keeping it so long. Mailed off today!

Journal Entry 8 by morsecode at Buffalo, New York USA on Sunday, June 13, 2010

This book arrived safe and sound in Buffalo, NY yesterday.

Journal Entry 9 by morsecode at Buffalo, New York USA on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sorry to have kept this book for so long. I've been reading it slowly, but steadily. I'll contact the next in line and get the book mailed off next week.

Journal Entry 10 by morsecode at Buffalo, New York USA on Saturday, August 07, 2010

This book is off to lauraloo29 today.

I had a really difficult time of it with Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell so I wasn't sure how I'd like The Ladies of Grace Adieu. But, since it's short stories and I liked the cover art, The Ladies of Grace Adieu went on my to-be-read list.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is not a quick read. One needs to spend time with these stories, to give them one's undivided attention. Philip Womack of the Spectator writes, "these tales read as if Jane Austen had rewritten the Brothers Grimm," which I think it a pretty good summation.

I could not get into this book. Its not really my type after all. I wonder what made me think it was when I signed up? Not to worry. I have the next address and will get it out within the week. Thank you for sharing!

Journal Entry 13 by Lottiotta at Swansea, Wales United Kingdom on Tuesday, September 28, 2010

How exciting! I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and if I'd thought ahead and not been thoroughly ensconced in A Game of Thrones I'd probably have re-read it in preparation for this bookring. Anyway, I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot, and it's a slim volume so I don't mind putting A Game of Thrones on pause awhile, since it's 800 pages long and I don't read much these days...!

Thank you for sending it my way!

27th October 2010 I'm now on page 110, just under halfway through, and loving it. :)

31st October 2010 Finished reading this last night, on my last evening in Paris. :) The first story, I found, was a little bit confusing. I was quite sleepy when I was reading it, but I thought it was a bit strangely written. All the other stories were proper fairy tales, with great characters and subjects, and exactly the right length, etc. She really is a master, this Susanna Clarke.

Thank you so much for sharing. I already have Shimmy-crazy's address, so I'll be posting it ASAP!

Journal Entry 14 by Lottiotta at Swansea, Wales United Kingdom on Monday, November 01, 2010

Released 6 yrs ago (11/1/2010 UTC) at Swansea, Wales United Kingdom

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Posted second class to Shimmy-crazy. :) I hope you get home safely, book! Loved it.